Instinct
by NeutralGuise
Summary: Spin off of Shade Penn's Come And Get It. A small change in Jack's transformation causes Predaking's plans to go awry.


**Notes:** Posted with Shade Penn's permission. Diverges from _Come And Get It_ after chapter 10. I'm using IDW units of time. This is an AU of an AU, so ignore all inconsistencies between this, the real world, canon, and the CAGI verse (like Jack starting out in robot mode instead of beast mode).

* * *

Predaking stared at Ripclaw. This... was not what he had envisioned. There was nothing wrong with his fellow Predacon's appearance, per se. He seemed lither than Predaking himself, and his paint job was mostly black and silver with hints of blue. His features were similar to when he was human, discounting the lack of nose and furiously glowing green optics. Really, this was all Predaking could have ever wanted for a mate, except... Except that the former human was only about a foot or so taller than he had been before his transformation. This could pose a problem.

Predaking heard the sound of footsteps approaching the kennel, and his mind started racing. This was not what he had expected, and he doubted anyone else could have predicted this result. He had wanted a mate. Ripclaw was much too small to fulfill that role, but he was still _Predaking's_ , still the only other Predacon in existence. Predaking didn't remember his time on Cybertron with Shockwave, but he had read all of the scientist's reports on Predacons. Shockwave had vivisected him, cut him open to see how he worked without bothering to disconnect the pain relays. Predaking had also researched humans after he learned of Ripclaw. He wouldn't want to kill the nascent Predacon through carelessness, and... His alarmed gaze moved from the door to settle on the tiny Cybertronian clawing at his foot in a blind rage as a thought occurred to him. (Fortunately, Ripclaw was too caught up to access any weapons he might have, and his claws weren't long enough to do more than score the surface of Predaking's plating.) How much of Ripclaw was still human? Was blood or energon pumping through his body? If Shockwave treated him the same way he had Predaking, would he go into shock and die?

No. No, no no, no, _no_. Ripclaw was too small, too fragile, to leave to Shockwave's tender mercies. None of the other Decepticons could be trusted with him either. Ripclaw had offended Megatron somehow back when he was human, and Starscream had already tried to hurt him by throwing him to Predaking (" _Try not to break him too badly._ "). The _Nemesis_ was not a safe place for Ripclaw, and given that the Decepticons had not even attempted to clone more Predacons, despite the fact that Predaking _knew_ Shockwave had more CNA on Cybertron, he was regretting swearing his obedience to Megatron. Now he had to choose, his pledge, or his packmate?

The footsteps were almost at the door, if he was going to act, now was the time.

Predaking opened the doors to the outside, transformed, and snatched Ripclaw up in one paw. He leapt over the side and was gone before the modern Cybertronians could enter the kennel.

* * *

Predaking wasn't really built for speed, so it was a good thing that his only pursuers had been Vehicons. He probably wouldn't have been able to outfly Megatron, Soundwave, or Starscream. The tracker Shockwave had placed on him had been disabled when the Autobots had tricked him into the Arctic, and the scientist had never bothered to replace it. No one had tagged Ripclaw with one either, so once Predaking shook off his followers they wouldn't be able to trace the two Predacons. He finally stopped over a remote mountain range. He briefly researched the area on the internet while he scanned the area. Satisfied that humans rarely ventured here, and finding no evidence of their presence, he descended towards a cave he'd spotted from the air. It was large enough for him to fit in his beast mode, but he shifted to his smaller root form as he entered. He carried Ripclaw as far in as he could before settling down and placing the smaller Cybertronian between himself and the entrance. Predaking would have preferred to be between the opening (and any potential dangers) and his packmate, but it was more important to keep Ripclaw from slipping down any of the smaller tunnels where Predaking wouldn't be able to follow and protect him. Ripclaw's plating couldn't be very thick, and who knew what sort of dangers there were in there?

Ripclaw lay on the ground for a moment before pushing himself up and frowning at his hands. He transferred his scowl to Predaking, "The last thing I remember is blacking out in the kennel. What happened? Why are we here?" He looked around before adding, "Where are we?"

He was no longer in a berserker state, then. Good. The memory loss was worrying, though. Maybe Predaking should have looked up Synth-En before administering it to Ripclaw. Perhaps relevant to this was the fact that Ripclaw's optics were blue now; Predaking wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not. "The transformation did not go as expected. I determined that you would be safer away from the Decepticons, so I took you away from them. We are in Canada."

There was a pause, and Ripclaw's features twisted, like he was trying to make three different expressions at once. Finally, his face smoothed, and he responded, "You mean my size."

"Yes, Shockwave might kill you by accident. Everyone else might kill you on purpose."

"Except Knockout."

"I don't want him anywhere near you either."

"That, we can agree on... You're not still stuck on that whole 'mate' thing, are you?"

"No, your size precludes that, but you are all I have left. Ever since I became aware on this planet, I have been alone. There were to be others, but the Autobots," he growled, "destroyed them, and the Decepticons have made no plans to renew their efforts. You are the only other Predacon, and I will not let you die."

"You think the De—wait, you became aware on earth? How old are you, exactly?"

Why was Ripclaw asking about his age? Did he think Predaking lacked the experience to care for him? "I came to myself over two deca-cycles ago, but I was created almost a stellar cycle ago."

"And how long is that in earth time?"

There was silence for a moment as Predaking ran the calculations. "I have been aware for over six weeks and was created almost seven and a half months ago."

Ripclaw was looking at him in disbelief. "You're not even a year old."

Crossing his arms, Predaking glared down at him. "Cybertronians don't mature the same way humans do. I am fully competent."

"I wasn't doubting you." The smaller Predacon frowned thoughtfully at the ground, "It just explains some things, that's all. So, now what?"

"Now we lay low. I know where most of the Decepticons' energon mines are. I can go after them later. I can scout for a more permanent living situation while I do so."

"Or..." Ripclaw trailed off, glancing outside.

"Or what?"

"Or we could go to the Autobots."

"What?" Predaking roared. "Have you forgotten that they killed the other Predacons? They'd kill you!"

"No, they wouldn't. They're my friends. Just—wait—" Ripclaw raised his hands in a placating gesture— "Hear me out! We're a lot more likely to survive if we have the backing of a large group. We've already established that the Decepticons are horrible people who cannot be trusted, so that leaves the Autobots. Wait, have you killed any of them?"

"No." _Not for lack of trying_ , he didn't say.

"Good," and he actually looked relieved. "They'll be more likely to listen when I vouch for you."

"What makes you think that they'll listen to you long enough for you to say anything? Our brethren were still incubating when the Autobots killed them."

"Like I said, they're my friends. They've been my friends for... almost two years now. If it worries you that much, though, we don't have to go directly to them." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "We can go to Agent Fowler."

* * *

It had taken almost two hours of debate, but Jack finally convinced Predaking to take a chance on the Autobots. The larger Predacon had made it clear that if this didn't work out, they were never going near any modern Cybertronians ever again. Jack was confident that he could make things work out for them though. Predaking had found out where Agent Fowler was stationed and was currently lurking near the agent's route home while Jack was sitting in a cave miles away, trying and failing to avoid thinking about what had been done to him.

He felt kind of bad for setting Agent Fowler up for an encounter with Predaking, but the Decepticons already knew who the man was. It was actually kind of surprising that he hadn't been attacked before. Maybe it was just a testament for their disregard for humans. He tried to think of things he could use to verify his identity, things he and Fowler would know, but that Smokescreen wouldn't. (He couldn't use anything that the Decepticons could plausibly know, and Smokescreen had had his mind invaded.) It was harder than he'd hoped it would be. He and the agent hadn't ever had any heart to hearts or even any conversations at all, come to think of it. He settled on mentioning their first conversation and offering to answer any further questions.

He felt a little less bad for setting Predaking up for an encounter with the Autobots, though. Unless Predaking was able to jam the signal somehow, Fowler would call them, and they would come find him. Jack smiled, remembering the first time he'd been aboard the _Nemesis_.

It was so weird to think that Predaking was barely over half a year old. Jack had gotten used to all the Cybertronians being ridiculously ancient. The idea of one being younger than him was mind boggling. It explained so much—how Predaking latched onto the first person even vaguely like him, the way he totally missed certain social cues, that he seemingly hadn't even considered finding a mate amongst the other Predacons and instead fixated on Jack. Jack was finding it a lot easier to forgive Predaking for his indiscretions now that he knew the other's age.

There was a loud crash outside and Jack cautiously approached the mouth of the cave in time to see Predaking transform and drag Agent Fowler's black sedan in. He sat down between the entrance and the car so he could keep one optic on Jack and Fowler and the other on the Nevada desert. "You wanted to talk to him."

Jack smiled up at him, trying not to show how nervous he was,"Thanks. Hey, Agent Fowler? Could you come out so we can talk, please?"

Fowler did not step out of his ruined vehicle, but rolled down the widow, "That voice... Jack?"

"Yeah!" He grinned and did his best to recall what he'd said to Fowler when he'd first met him. "I am an intern, a student intern, here to earn extra credits in mechanics, or robotics, one or the other."

It took the agent a moment to place the exchange, but then he laughed and got out of the car. "Jack, what happened to you?"

Jack's grin faltered. "I should have gone with Smokescreen. Shortly afterwards, Knockout and Shockwave decided to play mad scientist with me. They injected me with Predacon CNA and energon. Some strange energy readings, probably from when I went to Cybertron, let me survive. Instead of dying I turned into this."

He trailed off and stared at his hands for a few seconds, then shook himself and continued, "They were all expecting me to be a full sized Predacon, when I didn't turn into that, Predaking here grabbed me and ran. He was worried that they'd kill me."

Fowler glanced back at the Predacon who was pretending that the conversation below was of no interest to him. "And he cares about you because?"

Predaking stopped pretending and snarled at the human. Jack quickly stepped between them, hands up and ready to placate him, but before he could say a word a ground bridge opened behind Predaking, who shifted into beast mode to block the newcomers' line of sight to Jack and Fowler.

Jack turned and gripped the agent's shoulder. "I need you to help me deescalate things."

"Jack," Agent Fowler was completely serious, "what, exactly, are you trying to accomplish?"

"I want to go home, and I want to take Predaking with me."

"And you trust him?"

"He doesn't want to be alone. I'm the only Predacon left. I trust that he wants to stay with me." Fowler didn't look convinced. "Please, I'll tell you the whole story later, but we need to hurry now."

The agent sighed and nodded. "Alright."

He turned to walk underneath Predaking to the entrance and Jack hurried to follow. Predaking tried to block them with his forelimbs, but Fowler dodged around them. He stood between Predaking and the Autobots. "Alright, now, let's all just calm down."

"Agent Fowler, are you alright?" Optimus asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Could you please lower your weapons? They just want to talk."

"'They?'" Bulkheaed asked.

Fowler looked behind him. Predaking was lying on the ground with his head on his forelimbs. Judging by the muffled sounds of protest, it seemed that he had managed to trap Jack in the space between his chest and front claws. "Yeah, 'they'. Jack's here. He looks... different, but he's here."

Arcee stilled for a moment, then turned and growled at Predaking, "Where?"

Before Arcee could try to go around Predaking, or worse, go _through_ Predaking, Optimus put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," Fowler turned towards the draconic Predacon, "Would you let Jack out? It would help if they could talk to him too."

It was amazing how much Predaking could emote with decidedly inhuman features, Fowler mused. Right now the Predacon was giving him a look of pure disbelief, before pointedly looking at each of the Autobots. Right, Fowler looked back at the Bots. "Guys, seriously, weapons away."

Optimus considered him and the Predacon for a moment. Then his blaster shifted back into his arm. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee reluctantly followed suit.

Predaking hesitated, but he transformed and remained crouched behind Jack ready to pull him back at the first sign of hostility.

Jack waved up at the Autobots, "Hello!"

Arcee summed everyone's response with a flat, "What."

"Yeah, I look pretty different, huh? Long story short, Knockout and Shockwave got to me."

Optimus started to move forward, stopping when Predaking noticeably tensed, "How can we be certain that you are who you say you are?"

"Um, let's see... The first time I came to the base Ratchet was... trying to intimidate us into leaving, I guess? He said something about us not having protective shells and getting squished if we got underfoot. He wasn't serious!" This was directed to the alarmed looking Predaking. "And you responded that you all would need to watch where you stepped. You and Bumblebee left for one afternoon and Ratchet totally hijacked all our science fair projects. You gave me the Key to Vector Sigma and told me it was for the ground bridge. If that's not enough, you can ask me anything. If you really want to be thorough, you can call my mom and ask her about stuff only she and I would know."

"Jack!" Arcee started to go towards her partner, but stopped short when Predaking snatched the former human up and stood with Jack cradled against his chest. "And what do you want?"

Predaking matched her glare, "I want to stay with... Jack."

"Can he?" Jack glanced between Arcee and Optimus Prime, "If he's with us, he's not with the Decepticons. Also, he knows where a lot of their energon mines are."

"Why?"

"Stockholm syndrome?" Bulkhead murmured to Bumblebee.

Jack ignored the two, "Does it really matter why? I want to go home. He wants to stay with me. Even if he decides not to fight for you, the Decepticons won't be able to use him anymore. He can also help you get energon out of their hands and into yours."

Optimus's gaze flickered between the two Predacons as he considered, "There will be a probationary period."

"Really, Optimus?" Bulkhead asked.

"If he wants a chance, I'm inclined to give him one." Optimus optics hardened as he turned to Predaking. "Only one chance."

Predaking scowled as he stepped closer to the ground bridge, still carrying Jack, "Just keep the two from the cave away from me and Jack."

* * *

Jack was practically bouncing up and down in Predaking's grip as they entered the Autobots' new base. His smile was almost blinding as he spotted a familiar figure on the ground. "Mom! Hey! Let me down!"

Predaking obliged, looking warily around before imposing himself between a large blue and red mech Jack didn't recognize and Jack himself. Jack was distracted from wondering what that could be about by his mother crashing into him. Jack squeezed her back carefully, then embraced Miko and Raf as they approached with questions.

God, it was good to be home.


End file.
